Baby Snuggles

So Anna usually goes right to sleep as soon as I lay her down for a nap, but for some reason, she was having a hard time falling asleep this morning. So I went and picked her up and she immediately snuggled up on my chest and closed her eyes. That hardly EVER happens. Usually the only time she likes close body contact is when she's nursing. So I was relishing the moment. I sat and rocked with her until she fell asleep...and then a little longer.

My roommate Mary used to say when anyone was grouchy, "He/she just needs some good kissing!" I think baby snuggles go in the same category. It's seriously good for the soul.

Nine months old!

Month number nine has been a big one for Anna!  Here are some of the highlights.

The biggest event for Anna this month was, of course, her surgery.  You can read all about that here.  We just went back for her follow-up appointment Thursday, and her doctor said her eyes are looking really good!  He seemed really pleased with how well she's doing.  So that is good news!

Anna had an appointment with her regular pediatrician this week as well.  She weighs 17 lb, 8 oz (38th percentile) and is 27 in long (45th percentile).  I was a little surprised that she is on the smaller side because she wears mostly 12 month clothes now.  But her head circumference is at the 80th percentile! She's got a big noggin. :)

Anna is officially a mobile baby.  She gets around pretty good with her army crawl, laying flat on her belly and pulling herself forward with her arms.  She is so close to full-on crawling.  She gets on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth, and she can pick up her hands like she's about to crawl.  But as soon as she tries to move her legs with her hands, she falls forward onto her face haha.  She also likes to push up on her feet with her bum in the air...like the downward facing dog position. :)  Here's a video of her on the move.

She learned a few weeks ago how to get from a sitting position to a crawling position.  Just this last week, she finally was able to get from a crawling position back to sitting.  I've gone to get her from her nap a couple times and found her sitting up in her crib.

Anna got her first top tooth this month. It's a BIG tooth, almost twice as big as her bottom teeth. She's up to three teeth now, with a fourth on it's way.

Anna can turn the pages of books all by herself now!  In fact, it's all she wants to do.  We usually have to speed read the book because she's ready to turn the page faster than we can read it. She does better with the board books, but she can turn paper pages without wrinkling them too bad. :)

She is starting to like watching the T.V.  She used to watch it for only a few minutes and then go back to whatever she was doing.  But now if I put a cartoon on, especially if it has music, she'll sit and watch it for ten or fifteen minutes.

Anna's hair is long enough to pull into pony tail on top of her head.  The front was getting so long that it was in her eyes, so I the other day I tried to trim it.  I wish I hadn't.  She was so wiggly that I didn't cut it very straight.  She'll just have to wear it in a pony every day to hide her uneven bangs!

Here are some of my favorite things Anna does.

1. Every time she does something new, we say "Yay, Anna!" and she claps and smiles really big. It's so cute!

2. When we go into the garage and open the garage door, she gets so excited!  She starts wiggling all over and flapping her arms up and down really fast.  It's so funny!

3. When she's crawling/scooting around on the floor, sometimes she gets tired and stops, lays her head down, and takes a little "breather."

4. She likes to "dance" (bob her head up and down) to music.

5. She loves playing the piano.  Both her little toy one and Mommy's big one.

6. She loves naps, and she goes down really quickly.  I just lay her down with her pacifier and blanket and she goes right to sleep.  It's awesome.  She still takes three naps a day.

Here are some of my not-so-favorite things.

1. She now HATES getting dressed.  And getting her diaper changed.  It's a battle every time.  She fights me the whole time, trying to roll over and crawl away.  Seriously, you'd think I was doing something horrible to her.  In fact, at the doctor the other day, she cried more when I was putting her clothes on than she did when she got her flu shot!

2. She likes to spit.  It's actually kind-of cute, but it's definitely not a habit we want to encourage!  One time we had pizza for dinner, and we had fed her some olives.  When dinner was over, we were sitting on the couch playing, and all of a sudden, she spit little chunks of olive all over me.  Gross.

3. Anna loves all technology.  I can't sit next to her when I'm texting or on my computer because she will try to grab it out of my hands and push the buttons.  If you get a call from my phone and all you hear is baby babble, don't be surprised.  She's called quite a few people already!

4. And a couple of times this month, she's woken up around 3:00 or 4:00 a.m., wide awake, wanting to play.  Ahhh!  The last time it happened, I just left her in her crib and went back to bed.  She was fine for a little while, then cried a little, and then went back to sleep on her own.  So that was good.  I hope it doesn't become a trend, though!

Well, that's about all!  Here are a couple more pictures!

Sad face. :(

Haha I don't even know what to say about this face.

She loves looking out the window!

Anna's Surgery

As most of you know, Anna's eye surgery was last Thursday.  As far as we can tell, the surgery was a success!  Her eyes look SO much better than before.  They seem to be tracking together really well, better than they ever have before.  It's almost strange to see...we were so used to the left eye being turned in that it's weird to see it looking straight and moving with the right eye.  Her eyes are still a little red but looking better every day.  We have to put antibiotic drops in three times a day, which Anna HATES.  But no more eye patch and hopefully no more surgeries!  We take her in for a follow-up appointment this afternoon, so we'll find out what the doctor has to say.  But we're feeling pretty optimistic!

The surgery was early Thursday morning.  We had to be to the surgery center at 7:00 a.m.  Derek and I woke up about 5:00 a.m. and showered and dressed.  We planned to wait to wake up Anna until right before we had to leave, but she woke up around 5:45, wanting to nurse. She couldn't eat for 5 hours before, which I was really worried about because she rarely goes that long.  Luckily, she handled it pretty well.  We got her up and got her dressed.  Then before we left, Derek gave her a blessing.

In the waiting area

It was a pretty cold and rainy day.  We got to the surgery center a few minutes early. We had to fill out some paperwork, and then we sat in the waiting room until about 7:45.   Then the nurse took us back to weigh Anna and take her vitals.  Her opthamologist (who performed the surgery) came to talk to us briefly.  Then the anesthesiologist came to tell us about how she would be put under and how long it would be before she woke up.

Then he swept her away.  We had planned to stay with her until they put her under, but they didn't give us the option.  It probably was better that way.  I think it would have been hard for me to watch.  After they took her, they led us to another waiting room next to the recovery room.  The surgery took about an hour.  It was a LONG hour.

Finally, the doctor came in and told us everything went well.  Then he talked to us about what to expect in the next few days as far as her recovery.  He told us Anna was still sleeping, but that she would be waking up soon. We could see Anna in the recovery room through the window.  Derek tried to walk over to her bed, but the nurses told us we couldn't go in there and that they would bring her to us as soon as she woke up.

About ten minutes later, they finally brought Anna to us.  She was just barely starting to stir, and her eyes were still closed.  It was so sad to see.  Her eyes were all puffy and there were a few drops of dried blood around them.  As she started to wake up more, she started crying (her voice was all horse from the tube they put down her throat).  She was NOT happy.  I tried nursing her and that helped calm her down a little.  Then the nurse came to take her vitals, and that made her mad again.  She wouldn't eat after that or take her pacifier.  I finally got her to stop crying by holding her upright with her head lying on my shoulder. That is my favorite way to hold her, but she hardly ever does it anymore, so I was kind-of loving it. :)  The nurse came in one more time to check her vital signs, and when everything looked good, they said we could go.

Anna had fallen back asleep by then, and we managed to slip her into her car seat without waking her up.  She slept the whole way home.  When we got home, she woke up and finally opened her eyes. We were a little worried at first because they still looked crossed!  But I think it was just because she was still pretty groggy.  After a few minutes, they looked as straight as can be!  Here's a before and after picture.

Before.

After.  So much better, huh?!

She was pretty fussy the rest of the day...not super cranky, but not her usual happy self.  We could tell her eyes were bothering her because she kept trying to rub them.  And they just looked like they hurt!  They were SO red and sometimes a little blood would trickle out of the corner.  They kind-of looked like eyes out of a horror movie, haha.  And she was so sleepy!  I think she was awake a total of maybe six hours that day!

But by the evening, she was starting to act more like herself, smiling and wanting to get down on the floor and scoot around.  And the next day, she was almost completely back to her normal, happy self.

We are just feeling so grateful that everything went so well!  Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers through this whole ordeal.  We really, really appreciate it!

Yardwork

I know I promised to post pictures of our house, and I haven't done it.  That's because I'm not quite ready to show it off yet.  We just have so much space and not enough furniture to fill it!  We did buy a new couch and T.V.  We still want to get an entertainment center, bookshelves, and maybe a new bedroom set in the next few months here.  And do some painting.  And then maybe I'll be ready to show it to people other than family.

But despite lots of empty space and several unpacked boxes, it is starting to look more like a home.  We finally hung most of our pictures up on the walls.  I bought two new trash cans and some new soap dispensers for the bathrooms. And we bought Anna a bookshelf so all her books are actually on a shelf rather than in a box.

And the yard is starting to look really good.  We had a several dry patches of grass that have greened up nicely after a few extra waterings and several rainstorms.  Derek's mom came last weekend (with garden gloves in tow) to help us with the yard.  She went to town clearing out the vegetable garden, tearing out two nasty trees, replanting the plum tree in a new spot, and planting a new tree out front.  It looks so much better!  Thanks, Karry!

In fact, maybe I'll go take a few pictures of the yard and post those.  Here ya go...

Before: See the little plum tree next to the garden which is all overgrown with weeds? And the ugly cottonwood?

After: Cottonwood is gone!  Garden is weed-free.  And the plum tree is moved.

 Before: Dryish grass and nasty Russian olive tree?

After: Green grass! Russian olive is gone.  And there's the little plum tree's new home.

Here's another view of the yard.  (Sorry it's blurry.  I was taking from behind the window because it was raining.)

So the three trees are a plum tree, cherry tree (which was engulfed before by the cottonwood...you can see the stump), and an apple tree.  We want to plant a peach tree to the left of the plum next spring.  And we will fence in the rest of the backyard, hopefully next spring as well.  Derek also wants to put in a drainage system between the trees and fence.  Our backyard and our neighbor's backyard both slope down to where they meet, and when we had a huge rainstorm last Saturday, we had a little pond in our yard for a couple days.

So there's the backyard.  I promise I'll post pictures of the inside soon!

So long, sweet summer

This summer has sure flown by!  I cannot believe it's already September.  Typically, the end of summer is bittersweet. It means the end of summer vacation but the beginning of fall, my favorite season.  But this year, since no one in our family is in school and the weather is still pretty warm, it still feels like summer.  And I'm ok with that. :)

Here are a few of highlights from the last "official" month of summer!

1. Attending my cousin Kyle's wedding.

The happy couple!

At the reception

Matt with Anna

Anna, Jenna, and Shannon hanging out at Grandma's before the reception 

Monty and Anna.  

(I wish I had gotten a video of those two. Anna was laughing at everything Monty did!  It was so cute!)

2. Spending time with my mom when she drove Maggie out for her first year of college.

Eating lunch at the CougarEat

Anna's BYU jersey matched Grandma's shirt :) 

Anna loves Maggie's hair!

3. Enjoying our daily walks along the river trail near our new house.

4. Watching the thunderstorms roll in.  We've had a storm almost every day for the past few weeks.  I'm loving it!

Although it's been a busy summer (two trips to Denver, four weddings, one family reunion, two moves, and a new house!), it's been a good one with lots of fun memories.

Eight is Great!

Anna is eight months old!  Crazy, I know.  This has been a really fun stage—maybe my favorite so far.  Anna can sit and entertain herself with toys for a good chunk of time.  She can't crawl yet and get into things.  She can go 3-4 hours between feedings and naps...which means we can be out and about for longer periods of time.  She still goes to almost anyone without a problem.  She loves to play and interact. And, hallelujah, she is sleeping 7-8 hours at night!  And she's just so darn happy! Everyone comments on what a happy baby she is.  She is almost always smiling!

I haven't weighed Anna in awhile, but she's probably around 20 pounds.  She seems to be a little bigger than average based on her clothes' size.  She is wearing 9 month clothes and fits a few 12 month things.  She still wears size 3 diapers.  Her hair is getting really long, especially in the front, but I don't want to cut it.  I think I'll just brush the bangs to the side or pin them back until they're long enough to pull into a ponytail.

Anna is rolling over both ways like a pro.  I always lay her down on her stomach to sleep now.  I think that's why she sleeps so much better.  Sometimes she'll start crying in the night, and by the time I go to get her, she's shifted positions and is back asleep.  That never happened when she slept on her back.  

Because she tries to roll over, diaper changing is a challenge!  I'll hold her feet with one hand trying to wipe her clean, and she'll try to twist her little torso onto her tummy.  So then I'll try and pin her stomach down and leave her feet free...but that usually means a foot in poo.  She is also starting to reach down and grab her diaper while I'm changing it.  Not cool.

I think Anna is still a month or so away from crawling.  She is starting to scoot a little bit, but she can't push up onto her hands and knees yet.  She moves the most in her crib...she uses the bars to push off with her feet.  I'm not in any hurry for her to crawl though.  I like being able to put her down with her toys and go to the bathroom and not wonder where she'll be when I get back!

This month Anna started sitting up in the grocery cart!  It was so fun to watch her the first time.  She was just smiling and smiling and looking around at everything.  She loves the new view!  And I like having more space in the cart!

Anna said her first recognizable word this month..."Da-Da." Ok, she doesn't actually say "Da-Da." It's just meaningless babble that happens to sound like "Da-Da."  But Derek gets all excited and praises her for it.  So it probably won't be too long before she makes the connection between the word and the crazy guy cheering ever time she says it. :)  She also loves to say the "Ssss" sound...except it's kind-of with a "Sid the Sloth" lisp, haha.

Anna is starting to clap!  When we cheer and clap, she will get excited and put her hands together too.  When she gets really excited about something, she bobs her head up and down, throws her hands in the air, and shuffles her feet back and forth.  So adorable!

Here are some of Anna's current favorites:

1.) Food—she loves almost everything we give her.  We mostly let her finger-feed herself...which means most of it ends up on the floor.  But she loves it!

First time eating spaghetti!

2.) Bath time.  She takes a bath about every other day.  After she gets scrubbed down, we let her splash and play with her toys to her heart's content.

3.) Roughhousing with Daddy.  He's turning her into a little daredevil.  He will throw her in the air, hang her upside down, and balance her with one hand.  It makes me nervous sometimes, but she just laughs and laughs!

4.) Books.  She has to touch every single page.  I'm trying to teach her to turn the pages, but she doesn't really get it yet. :)  We mostly stick to the board books right now so she doesn't rip the pages!

5.) Her blankets.  When it's nap time, I usually lay her down with her pacifier and blanket.  As soon as she gets that blanket she grabs it with both hands and buries her face into it.  It's so cute!  She'll usually fall asleep that way.

6.) Her box of toys.  It doesn't matter how many toys we place in front of her.  She always wants to reach in her little toy box and pull all the rest out too.  It's so fun to watch her.  She'll pull out a toy, turn it over and over in her hands, examining it from each angle.  Then she'll put it in her mouth.  Then after a few minutes, she'll put it down and reach for the next one.

7.) Things that aren't toys.  The remote.  Our phones.  Plastic bags.  Paper.  I think this is true for most babies.  Why do we spend money on toys when they're just as happy with an empty water bottle?

8.) Taking evening cat naps and then staying up until 10:30 or 11:00.  Mom and Dad aren't such a fan of this.  We try not to let her nap in the evening, but sometimes we decide we'd rather deal with a happy, well-rested baby until 11:00 than a grouchy, overtired one until 9:00.  She's so cranky when she's tired!

Anna doesn't like...

1.) Her eyepatch.  She will turn her head and push my hands away every time I go to put it on.  Then she'll rub at it like she's trying to take it off.  After a few minutes, she seems to just forget about it, and it doesn't bother her anymore.

2.) Getting dressed.  You'd think she'd be used to it by now!

3.) Being left alone.  As long as she can see you, she's fine.  But as soon as you leave the room or move to where she can't see you, she will start crying.

4.) Other babies crying.  I was in the mother's lounge at church the other week with another mom and baby.  Whenever the little girl would start crying a little, Anna would just start bawling.  I think it was scaring her!

5.) Nursing when other people are around.  She wants to see everything that's going on and won't focus to eat.  I have to nurse her in a quiet room with no distractions.

Well, that's a pretty good update...I always feel like I'm writing a novel every month, but there are so many things I don't want to forget!  Here are a few more pictures.

She didn't like the hood and tried to pull it off!

Watermelon!

I know.  I can't stand how cute she is either! :)

Surgery is Scary

We were told last Monday that Anna needs to have surgery to fix her crossed eyes.  We weren't surprised or shocked.  We hadn't seen any improvement with the patching, and we had read a lot of information about strabismus (misaligned eyes).  Everything we read about her condition seemed to point to surgery as the answer.  So we were pretty much just waiting for the doctor to confirm what we already knew.

But as we sat there in the doctor's office, hearing the procedure explained as a "when" rather than an "if" and hearing the risks involved...and actually marking a date for the surgery to take place...it all suddenly became real.  And a little frightening.  Even though I know that the risks are statistically very small, and even though the doctor specializes in this procedure and has done it hundreds of times, and even though I want the problem to be fixed...even though my mind tells me that everything will be fine and there's no reason to worry...I worry.  Because she's my baby girl.  And I love her more than life.  And the thought of even the possibility of anything bad happening to her is terrifying.

I wish she didn't need surgery!  I hate the thought of handing her over to doctors and nurses to be poked and prodded and put under and operated on.  I hate the thought of waiting over an hour to be told that everything went well and to see and hold her again.

Most of all, I hate that there's nothing I can do to fix it.  Everything else I've been able to fix for her.  I feed her when she's hungry.  I help her to fall asleep.  I comfort her when she's hurt.  But this is out of my hands.  I have to literally put my baby girl in the hands of strangers (competent and skilled strangers, but still strangers).  And I have to trust them to fix her eyes.

All I can do is pray.  Pray and have faith that the Lord will watch over her and that everything will be fine.  And there's no reason why everything won't be just fine!  But it's still scary.

(Also, for anyone who is interested, I found this website that explains Anna's condition really well.  You can also read Derek's blog post which explains the surgery in more detail.)